Excessive soda consumption can lead to higher health insurance costs

Proposals to target high health insurance costs and diseases like diabetes with a soda tax are reportedly running into serious opposition from one of the country's largest bottling companies.

According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Coca-Cola is launching a public relations campaign in at least seven major U.S. cities, based on the idea that such a tax would be "discriminatory."

The newspaper cites Coca-Cola Enterprises CEO John Brock as saying that a penny per ounce tax on sodas could raise the cost of a 12-pack by $1.44.

The idea of adding a tax on soda is seen as a way to defray the multi-billion dollar price tag of healthcare reform while also targeting obesity, diabetes and heart disease levels that have skyrocketed in recent years across the country.

Elsewhere, the American Heart Association recently reported that diets high in fructose, which is a key ingredient in many sodas, tend to bring on higher heart disease levels. The heart organization also noted that a high-fructose diet contributes to health risks that often result in diabetes and other conditions such as obesity.